The politicization of medical preprints on Twitter during the early stages of COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

  • Aleksandra Urman University of Zurich
  • Stefania Ionescu University of Zurich
  • David Garcia TU Graz; Complexity Science Hub Vienna; Medical University of Vienna
  • Anikó Hannák University of Zurich

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2022.003

Keywords:

social media, preprints, political communication, COVID-19

Abstract

We examine the patterns of medical preprint sharing on Twitter during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis demonstrates a stark increase in attention to medical preprints among the general public since the beginning of the pandemic. We also observe a political divide in medical preprint sharing patterns - a finding in line with previous observations regarding the politicisation of COVID-19-related discussions. In addition, we find that the increase in attention to preprints from the members of the general public coincided with the change in the social media-based discourse around preprints.

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Published

2022-02-08

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Urman, A., Ionescu, S., Garcia, D., & Hannák, A. (2022). The politicization of medical preprints on Twitter during the early stages of COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, 2. https://doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2022.003